The Bay Area Scientific and Information Symposium series is an opportunity for Tampa Bay scientists and resource managers to present and document the latest technical findings and management implications to a broad regional audience. The latest symposium (BASIS 5) was held October 20-23, 2009 at the Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort in St. Petersburg, FL. The Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council’s Agency on Bay Management and the Tampa Bay Estuary Program co-sponsored the symposium. Over 160 regional scientists, managers, and outside experts attended the meeting which also garnered 11 private and public sponsors.